This invention relates to compositions for use as corrosion inhibitors, lubricants and emulsifiers, particularly primary alkanoletheramides made from dimerized or trimerized tall oil fatty acids and from an aminoalkoxyalcohol such as aminoethoxyethanol, and compositions containing fatty acid mono-amides and the primary alkanoletheramides of dimer or trimer acids.
Alkanolamides are used in the metalworking industry as corrosion inhibitors, lubricants and emulsifiers. The industry often uses C10 to C24 fatty acids for production of these amides, including use of tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) which consist mainly of mixtures of saturated, mono-unsaturated and di-unsaturated C18 fatty acids. In the past the industry has typically used amides from secondary alkanolamines due to the tendency for these amides to remain free of precipitated solids during storage. These "clear" liquids have the advantage of being easy to handle and dispense. There now exists a push in the industry to move away from use of secondary alkanolamines due to health concerns. Primary alkanolamines present adequate replacements in many applications. However, fatty amides of primary alkanolamines tend to precipitate out solids at ambient temperatures and in some cases become completely solid. This makes these mono-substituted alkanolamides difficult to handle.